A 9to5Mac reader, Mike Taylor, recently shared a powerful account of how his Apple Watch may have saved his life—echoing a similar story we reported earlier this week.
What started as mild shortness of breath turned into a life-threatening emergency. After leaving work one evening, Taylor collapsed in a nearly empty parking lot on the way to his car. He blacked out from what he later learned were multiple large blood clots in his lungs—one of which was blocking oxygen to his heart.
In a Reddit post, Taylor recalled what happened: “I thought I just had a lingering cold or maybe some weird COVID symptoms, mostly shortness of breath. Nothing crazy… until one evening after work. I was walking through an almost-empty parking lot on my way to my Jeep when things suddenly got worse. I felt lightheaded, dizzy, and seriously winded. I barely made it to the back of my vehicle before I blacked out.
“Next thing I know, I’m coming to, face-down on the pavement, and my Apple Watch is vibrating and flashing SOS. It had detected the hard fall and was automatically calling 911. In my dazed state, I actually stopped the call (don’t be like me 😅), but thankfully, 911 called me right back.”
Paramedics arrived within minutes and rushed him to the ER. A doctor later told him the quick response likely made the difference between life and death. His wife, located 35 miles away, was instantly notified through her iPhone thanks to emergency contact alerts.
Taylor credits the Apple Watch’s fall detection and emergency features for helping save his life, and urges others to set theirs up properly. “You never think you’ll need this stuff until you really do,” he said. “I’m glad to be here. Still so amazed that my watch pretty much saved me.”
Here’s a quick checklist to make sure your Apple Watch is ready in case of an emergency:
These settings take just a few minutes to configure—and they could save your life.
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